C319 Spider-Man (Patreon)

-X-Mansion-

Jean Grey tossed and turned in her sleep, sweat beading on her forehead. Her mind was in absolute turmoil as her body began to shine in a faint fiery glow.

Suddenly, Jean's eyes shot open as she bolted upright in her bed, drenched in sweat.

She breathed heavily and felt the fiery energy coursing through her veins, stirring up the familiar fear and dread that had incessantly plagued her in recent years.

And with this influx of energy came the voices...

‘I think I’ll have bacon and eggs for breakfast today...’

‘Why do I have to go to school so early? I just want to stay home and play Call of Duty...’

‘Oh yeah, you dirty wh*re... Suck it...’

...

..

.

Jean's telepathy was enhanced to an astronomical degree, sending her senses into overload as she heard the thoughts of everyone within a 50-mile radius.

And it was still spreading even further with each passing second.

“?!” Her eyes shot wide open as she began to hyperventilate all over again. ‘Go away... Go away... Go away...’

Squinting her eyes shut and curling into a ball, Jean tried to control it as she hoped and wished for the voices to stop.

As she lay there, she couldn’t help but recall the repeated nightmare that’s been haunting her recently.

Nightmares weren’t usually a problem for her, but they seemed to just spring up out of nowhere.

In her most recent dream, Jean saw herself walking through the halls of the Xavier mansion, a cold and calculating look on her face.

As she passed by the various rooms, she could hear the muffled sounds of children laughing and playing, unaware of the danger that was looming just outside their doors.

She made her way to the Principal's office, where Professor X was sitting at his desk, deep in thought.

The moment he saw Jean, he stood up and moved towards her with a welcoming smile, happy to see his student visiting him.

But before he could even utter a greeting, Jean’s eyes turned red, and she unleashed a massive burst of energy that sent him flying across the room, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud.

Jean stood there cloaked in fire, enjoying the look of betrayal that she was receiving, a wicked grin spread across her face.

The Professor tried to search Jean's mind to see what was wrong, but as soon as his mind made contact with hers, Charles’ face morphed into an image of complete agony.

“AARGH!” He cradled his head and wailed in pain as blood leaked from his eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.

Laughing at the man's cries, Jean waves her hand, tossing a ball of flames in her mentor's direction.

Instantly, Charles lit up like a California forest, quickly burning him away until there was nothing but his skeleton remaining.

Not sparing another glance at her former teacher, Jean walked out into the hallway, and with a flick of her wrist, she sent a wave of fire blasting through the building.

The screams of the children echoed through the burning mansion, and Jean reveled in their terror.

She watched as their bodies were consumed by the flames, begging for someone to save them.

It was only when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her that Jean seemed to snap out of it. It was Scott, the boy that always chases after her, standing motionlessly in the burning hall across from her.

She knew his feelings...

As she looked into his eyes, Jean knew that she couldn’t stay sane for much longer.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let go, allowing the fiery energy to consume her entirely.

The last thing that she saw before her fiery suicide was a giant burning phoenix, which seemed to burn away alongside her.

And as she disappeared, the image of the mansion burning to the ground was left haunting her mind.

-Nightmare Flashback End-

‘What’s happening to me?!’ Jean asked as she cried in her bed, still glowing with fiery power.

She instinctively knew that the dream was a warning, a sign of what was to come.

Jean had to find a way to contain her power before it was too late, or else she would become the monster she’d seen in her nightmare.

“AAAAHH!!!” Jeans screamed and thrashed in her bed. “PROFESSOR!”

...

It didn’t take long for her cries to be heard and for help to arrive.

Thankfully, Charles was able to access her mind and place his barriers, though the gossip quickly spread across the school, leaving everyone wondering what was wrong with Jean?

—————————————

On that same day, a special guest arrived at the X-Mansion.

“I-Is that...”

“No way...”

“It's Spider-Man!”

...

A portal opened in the middle of the driveway and out came the one and only Spider-Man, who was immediately swarmed by excited starstruck children.

“Can I have your autograph?”

“Can I touch your mask?”

“What are you doing here?”

...

..

.

The questions didn’t seem to end and none of them gave him a chance to answer either.

But thankfully, someone swiftly rushed to Peter's rescue.

“It’s time for class!” Wolverine ran over and started ordering the kids around. “Get moving, you gremlins! Don’t be late or else!”

Although they were very reluctant to leave, the kids gave Peter one last glance before rushing off to their classes.

“What are you doing here?” Logan asks.

“I came to see what’s going on with Charles. He seemed out of it in our last Council meeting.” Peter explained his concern.

“Huh...” Logan grunted as if he knew something.

“Alright, start talking.” Peter crossed his arms and waited for him to speak.

“Well...”

——————————————

While Peter and Wolverine were talking, news of Spider-Man’s arrival quickly spread across the mansion.

“Spider-Man?” Blob, a fat teenager, asked as he and his friends Pyro, Toad, and Avalanche walked menacingly through the halls.

As former members of the Brotherhood of Mutants, the four of them tried to show their dominance over the other children, though sadly, that only ended with them becoming outcasts that bully some of the weaker children on a regular basis.

Of course, this bullying didn’t go unnoticed.

In fact, they’re punished almost constantly for it, but somehow, they never seem to learn their lesson.

“It’s true, I swear!” A little girl half their age nodded in fear as the four older kids towered over her.

“Don’t lie!” Pyro yells as he scares her with a bit of fire.

“I-I’m not...” The girl whispers in fear as her eyes moistened.

“You gonna cry?” Toad asks condescendingly as his friends laughed.

And just as the little girl started to cry, an angry voice echoed through the hall.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Jean Grey, who only left her room to get some food, stood frozen in rage as she watched the same old group of idiots taunting a little girl.

‘Do these f*ckers never learn?’ She thought in fury.

Without a second thought, Jean glared in their direction and sent them to their knees.

“”“Argh!”””

“Wait! We’re sorry...” Pyro spoke as he and the others grasped their heads in agony.

Scoffing in their direction, Jean used her telekinesis to push the bullies away from the little girl, and with a fierce determination, she stepped in front of her to protect her.

“Wow...” The little girl wiped her tears away and watched in awe as the bullies were put in their place.

But as Jean's rage intensified, something inside of her began to stir...

Although the Professor just remade the barriers this morning, the primal force of the universe that had bonded with Jean and granted her immense power wasn’t so easily trapped anymore.

Suddenly, a dry heat filled the hall as Jean’s skin began to glow once more.

“S-Stop, please... We’re really sorry... Okay? It won’t happen again!” Toad begged as he felt his moist frog-like skin begin to dry out.

And as the wannabe villains tried to run away, they were met with an unstoppable force that quickly sent them crashing into the metal lockers.

Jean's eyes blazed with a fiery glow as she unleashed the full power of the Phoenix, sending waves of telekinetic energy crashing down upon them, rattling and denting the lockers with their figures.

“””AAAAGGHH!””” The four bullies screamed in agony.

“Umm, big sister?” The little girl called out as her awe slowly turned to fear. “I think they learned their lesson...”

———————————————

Back outside, Wolverine just finished explaining what happened this morning to Peter, whose frown deepened with every added detail.

“Where is-” Peter spoke though he froze as soon as he felt an enormous spike in energy from the mansion.

And with the spike of energy came agonizing screams, which caused Logan to turn his head toward the building in concern as well.

“What the...” Logan muttered as Peter dashed passed him, making his way to the front door. “Hey! Wait for me!”

A/N: 1504 words :)